The waning days of February brought back thinking about how March would begin . . .
and how it would end . . .
The lion . . .
or the lamb?
Or in “Slicer Circles”, the “calm before the storm”. And my curious nature took over, I just had to explore. Besides, the kids asked,
“What does that mean? Does it really get quiet before it storms? Or did you just make that up?”
And I gulp. I know there are days where I am filled with useless, irrelevant information that was stored away during the decades where memorization of trivia was the goal. So now, I’m stuck.
“Do I know? Do I just think I know?”
I have no problem consulting google for an answer. In fact we look at the screen together.
For Farlex Dictionary of Idioms:
the calm before the storm. (n.d.) Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. (2015). Retrieved February 25 2018 from https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/the+calm+before+the+storm
And then we were off to explore idioms.
“Are all idioms figurative language? Or just the ones that have no literal meaning?”
One example that I use is “play it by ear”. It is an idiom. It’s also figurative language. We talk about what it means. And then the ultimate question:
Are there other ones?
We settle on a video with song excerpts.
We talk about the songs, the figurative language, and what it all means.
A car pulls up, the horn honks and the kids gather up their books, backpacks, and coats.
“See you!”
And the library returns to quiet.
I’m still waiting. Last pdf to download. Now it’s almost too quiet!
Who knew? My “slice” was found at the public library!
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Another found moment! I love that you made time to answer the questions you were asked (and answered your own as well).
Erika,
I often wonder about the questions I am asked. (As well as the ones that enter my brain!) Maybe I just look like a curious soul! At any rate, I captured some high-speed downloads and made a couple of friends at the library. 🙂
After I moved to MA, I found that my midwestern speech peppered with idioms, etc. was strange and amusing to the natives. As witnessed by our lab, Lily, March certainly is coming in like a lion here in the Boston area with a ‘bombcyclone’ of wind. I hope it will not deter me from my pilgrimage to TC tomorrow.
Oh no, my lab, Mya, is my weather forecaster. She hates thunderstorms. I hope the weather clears as TC will be a fabulous day. I’m going to listen for idioms for a few days as I’m sure I’m chock full of them! ❤
in the calm before the storm,
I wander
the stacks of
stories.
I am forever
hopeful
for tales to
arrive, not in a deluge
of a hurricane
but in the
Spring-like storm
of pittering pattering characters,
whispering secrets in my
ear.
— Line-lifting for some poetry comments. Pardon my intrusions.
🙂
Kevin
Kevin,
Love this! . . . “spring-like storm of pittering pattering characters, whispering secrets in my ear.” What a picture that creates!
It really is funny where our slices appear unexpectedly! Makes us re-think why we worry about what we will write about for this challenge. Ideas will come!
Christine,
Ah, the worry and angst from “What will I write about?” is good for adults as it can help us reframe what we say to students! 🙂
Love this slice because it reminds me of the fun I had exploring idioms with my fourth graders. They interviewed grandparents and parents, chose an idiom to illustrate the figurative meaning with pictures. “The calm before the storm” – could this be the days just before the writing storm that is now taking place on twowritingteachers’ site where Slice of Life writers gather like rain clouds to release their gifts of writing and nurture the community? I like the way you show us that “slices” can be found anywhere. Fran, you’re amazing!
Lynne,
Exactly like “slicing” and that was originally where I thought this slice was heading . . . but instead it was the “learning trip” we took!
So much of life can be slices! And I’m still thinking about your “anthropologist view” yesterday! You are quite clever yourself! ❤
This is so important for ESL students. Oftentimes they find figurative language confusing. However, once they understand it they develop a deeper understanding of how English works.
So agree. Students who are trying to master “words” really struggle with figurative language. We used to pull out Amelia Bedelia for this but many teachers have not heard of her. So hard to get to the nuances of language and all that entails when still at the “beginner” stage!
One of the things I would sometimes do with my students is have them take examples of figurative language and draw a picture of its literal meaning. Students had fun with this. I also believe that because of all of the idioms we have in the English language. English can be a difficult language for people in other countries to learn.
There you go again, my friend Fran! Showing me where slices can appear at any given moment of my day. I will be on #HighAlert for the next 29 days, you can be sure of that!
Dani,
A “slice” can literally spring from one minute, one action, or even one thought. #HighAlert will stand you in good stead! 🙂